


my roommate is a witch

by cheeryberry



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Roommates, Witch Renjun, and his clueless roommate jeno who is also a genius
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:22:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheeryberry/pseuds/cheeryberry
Summary: renjun has been hiding his secret identity as a witch from his adorable roommate and crush for almost a year now but unfortunately his entire façade will have to come crashing down when jeno accidentally drinks a love potion.(or, a long a drawn out fake relationship fic because renjun refuses to reveal his identity)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 6
Kudos: 96





	my roommate is a witch

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first chaptered fic based around a singular ship and i do hope you enjoy it. english is not my first language so i do apologize beforehand if any sentences that are too long or weird sounding!

Renjun remembers the time he had come across an article about how the smartest people in our lives are also the dumbest. 

Granted, it was a column in one of those teenage magazines that they'd get in the mailbox and would just have lying around the apartment for decor but he couldn't help but think about how true those words were, how loudly they spoke to him as he watched Jeno consume the glass of strawberry smoothie with 3 straws, all at once.

He and Jeno had been roommates for a little over 11 months now and let’s just say, it's been great.

As much as Renjun hates to admit it, Jeno is an amazing roommate. He does the dishes, he cleans after himself, he's attentive, he likes the late-night trips to the grocery store that Renjun takes him out in the wee hours of the night, and he walks around the house shirtless.

The last one is CERTAINLY a plus for Renjun.

But all of those qualities can't deny the fact that sometimes Jeno is… Very questionable.

Not questionable in a bad way but in a weirdly adorable and charming way.

Sometimes Jeno has the acute ability to recite long passages of text from writers nobody has even heard of and then in the next hour or so, Renjun will catch him trying to roast marshmallows with their toaster.

Other times, Renjun will see Jeno's name placed at the top spots for exam grades and then will catch him later at home having a mental breakdown because his calculator glitched to say that 2+2 equaled 5.

And even yesterday, when Renjun came home and caught Jeno trying to look for his pair of glasses… That had already been on his face this entire time.

Look Jeno is a great guy, Renjun adores him but man…

Renjun shrugs. Guess his mother was right all along, no man on this earth is truly perfect.

But okay, he'll give Jeno the benefit of the doubt, people do stupid things all the time (Jeno just does them more than others, but that's not the point here.) What Renjun is concerned about is their current relationship.

As much as Renjun seems as if he's bitching about a perfectly normal roommate, he's not.

You see, Renjun has a bit of a fat crush on Jeno and it's a crush that's been harboring itself for about 8 months now.

But can you blame him? Jeno is freaking gorgeous! And he's sweet, and lovable, and kind, and generous, and amazing, and he walks around shirtless!!

Sadly there's just one problem and it has nothing to do with Jeno himself but moreover, it's Renjun that's the issue.

And the one tiny little issue with their entire friendship is the fact that Renjun has been keeping up a façade.

And not the kind of façade you're thinking of where he fakes his whole personality but the façade where you fake your whole identity. But saying it out loud doesn't make or sound any better either.

Renjun was still Renjun, personality-wise but he just wasn't… Human.

You see, Huang Renjun is a witch.

A full-blooded, pure born witch. The kind of witch that does spells and concocts potions and such.

The details are long and tedious but to put it simply his mother was a witch, his grandmother was a witch, and his great grandmother was a witch. So it was only natural that the next firstborn in line would also be one as well.

But what Renjun had observed over the 11 months that he had been Jeno's roommate was that Jeno never said a single thing, he never said a single word even when Renjun was being fishy as hell, and he would just dismiss everything with the same smile on his face.

Some would say, Jeno just didn't care and maybe that was it but who wouldn't care if their roommate was a witch?? It all just felt very… Odd.

Whenever Renjun's room would smell like an explosion of different scents after a failed potion, Jeno never said a word, when Renjun would be reciting spells in Old Latin in the middle of the night even though their walls were super thin, Jeno never complained once, and even when Renjun would bring home stacks of old books and glass bottle and jars filled with god knows what, Jeno never uttered a single word.

Was Renjun even trying to hide the fact that he was a witch at this point?

Maybe Jeno really just was a non-judgemental, cool dude who didn't question Renjun's shenanigans? Renjun will never know because he isn't able to read minds just yet but once he learns how to, it's gonna be game over for Lee Jeno.

But alas, even with Jeno's big brain self, who's able to solve an entire rubix cube in 20 seconds, he has not even once asked or figured out about Renjun's secret.

And as Renjun stares at Jeno trying to stuff his mouth with a handful of jelly beans from afar and Jeno catches him, his lips curling into the smile that Renjun has only grown fonder and fonder for over the months, 

Renjun thinks maybe it's best that some secrets should stay secrets.

(And that also includes his crush on Jeno.)

— 🔮 —

"What? A love potion?" Renjun wedges his phone in between his ear and shoulder whilst also trying to balance the 3 spell books in his arms. "Don't tell me you're trying to make a love potion."

He knows full well he can just use a spell to make these books float by themselves but he can't take the chance of someone seeing him.

_"... Maybe?"_ Chenle weakly says over the phone.

Chenle was Renjun's cousin and one of the few people that knew about Renjun's secret also because he was a fellow witch himself.

"Chenle!" Renjun groaned over the phone, struggling to take the staircase up to his apartment, "You know we don't create potions like that anymore because of obvious reasons!"

Love potions had been banned from production since the 1900s and for a good reason to. A witch’s love potion will guarantee that the recipient will fall in love with the first person they lay eyes on and will become head over heels for that person until the 5-month process ends and the potion wears off, but by that time the person who’s drunk the potion will be so infatuated with their lover that they won’t question a thing and since the effects of the potion are strong, long-lasting and the results are irreversible, the High Council of Witches had to put it into question.

However, nowadays the only places you would be able to find love potions would be the black market or witches who lived off the grid and kept the potions for themselves. But that doesn’t mean the recipe is impossible to get your hands on and considering who Chenle is, Renjun guesses it wasn’t hard for him to obtain the recipe with no problem.

The Zhong’s were certainly a clan of witches not to be messed with.

And tale has it, the last witch that created a love potion, used it on a man she had feelings for but the potion she had created was so powerful and dysfunctional that the man became obsessed with her, to the point that it became deranged and he eventually was jailed for murdering a close friend who he assumed was in the way of his relationship.

Ever since then, love potions have practically been unheard of.

Renjun could almost hear Chenle roll his eyes over the phone

_"Yes, of course, I know the tale of Madame Angel. To be honest, it was her fault for using so much rośe powder anyways."_

"Rośe powder had nothing to do with it," Renjun defends, "the fact of the matter is, love potions are dangerous and they're banned."

_"But there's nothing in the rulebook that says witches can't make it for themselves!"_

Renjun finally makes it up to his apartment floor, stopping to catch his breath. "That still doesn't mean you should make it!"

_"Oh come on Renjun, aren't you curious?"_

"Nope. Absolutely not."

That was a lie. Renjun was very interested.

Chenle frowned. _"Please? Pretty super, please? With sprinkles and a cherry on top??"_

Renjun sighed. "Look. I will let you use my ingredients, ONLY if you're careful. Please I can't have Jeno coming into my room and asking why it smells like I've been smoking 7 different other plants that aren't weed."

Chenle gasped. _"THANK YOU I LOVE YOU—"_

Renjun hung up the phone with a frustrated shake of his head. He doesn't know what he just got himself into but he's 100% sure Chenle will give up even before the potion is completed. Love potions have way too many ingredients and the brewing process is an absolute pain to sit through and with Chenle’s impatient self, Renjun doubts he’ll even get through the first simmering process before he throws the wooden spoon into the cauldron.

He fishes for his keys in his jacket pocket, struggling to balance everything in one hand as he unlocks his door at the same time. He lets out a sigh of relief as the door swings open and the warmth of his apartment envelopes him along with the surprising sight of Jeno.

"Oh sh—" Renjun almost drops everything before Jeno swoops and quickly gathers Renjun's book.

Mr. Perfect as always.

"Woah! I got you." Jeno closes the door behind Renjun as he shakes his shoes off. "What's up with the thick ass books? Exam season is over dude."

"I just wanted to cram in some extra studies." Renjun makes up on the spot. "I still have a lot to learn."

"Ah yes, being studious as always." Jeno sing-songs. "Want these in your room?"

"Yes please," Renjun answers unconsciously as he hangs his coat on their rack. "Speaking of studies, I thought you had a class?"

"It was canceled last minute!" Jeno says from inside Renjun's room. "Professor was having some issues so we were free to go."

"That sounds nice." Renjun hums, walking towards his room only to be surprised again when Jeno appears in front of him again, giving him a second heart attack.

"Jesus Christ— Would you stop doing that!" He smacks Jeno on the shoulder who playfully smiles at him.

"Slow down Jun." Jeno flicks his forehead. "I thought I told you to call me if you were carrying heavy stuff. You know we live on the 3rd floor." He folds his arms over his chest leaning against the doorframe.

There Jeno goes again being Jeno, always worried for Renjun's wellbeing like he's his mom.

"Well, Chenle called once I got to the building and it just kind of slipped my mind." Renjun scratches the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'll call you down first next time."

Jeno's expression softens and he pats Renjun’s head. "It's fine." He checks his watch. "So, I have nothing to do for the next 6 hours, wanna have a movie night?"

Renjun likes this, he likes the way Jeno can be forward about things that still manage to make Renjun's heart race.

"When have I ever said no to that?"

— 🔮 —

Renjun is going, to be honest, he never had any faith in Chenle ever completing the potion in the beginning. Sure, he was intrigued by the idea but to think that Chenle would even make it past sitting through the first hour of making it.

But oh boy was he proven wrong.

It had been 2 days since their conversation on the phone and when Renjun had received the piece of news, he was at Barnes and Noble with Jeno, trying to pick out the perfect Christmas presents for their parents.

The weather was chilly outside but the store was warm and brightly lit, the interior was decked out in the usual red, white, and green decorations and the place was bustling with people doing some early Christmas shopping, just like they were.

"Do you think my mom would like the Moleskine more or the Leuchtturm?" Renjun inspects the two journals in his hands. "Jeno?" He brings his head up to look around when he doesn't hear an answer.

"Wingardium leviosa!" 

Renjun feels a poke on his back, courtesy of Jeno which startles the hell out of him, turning around to find Jeno with a dopey grin, wearing plasticky round Harry Potter glasses, with a Gryffindor striped scarf around his neck and a rubber wand in his hand.

"Wingardium leviosa my ass—" He smacks Jeno on the back, "What happened to looking for a cookbook for your dad??"

Jeno frowns, rubbing the spot on his back at Renjun just slapped. "Well I was on the course but you see I saw the Harry Potter section and my feet decided to change the course."

Renjun narrowed his eyes at Jeno unconvincingly, rolling his eyes. "I can't take you anywhere." He reached his hands up to pluck the fake round glasses off of Jeno's face. "It's like looking after a 5-year-old on sugar cookies."

"You love me for it."

Renjun thinks for a second.

"You're right, I do."

Jeno brightly smiles at him, stopping Renjun's hand when he goes to unwrap the scarf.

"Wait, I wanna keep that."

"Well, I'm not sure the cashier will be too pleased if they have to check out the scarf while it's wrapped around your neck." Renjun tugs it off and it untangles out of Jeno's neck. "So let's just put it in the basket for now, yeah?"

"Yes sir." Jeno leans over and puts one of the planners in Renjun's hand back on the shelf. "Also your mom likes Leuchtturm more, she likes her pages numbered and headed."

"You remember the weirdest things." Renjun shakes his head, a smile curling across his face. "Thanks."

"Well, I've gotta use this noggin sometimes." Jeno winks at him. 

"Yeah, yeah okay Mr. Genius." Renjun chuckles. "C'mon, let's go pick out that cookbook for your dad."

Jeno nods excitedly and moves to loop his arm around Renjun's, the gesture making Renjun feel warmer than he already is right now. But sometimes Renjun desperately just wants to grab Jeno's hand and intertwine their fingers together but Renjun will never have the guts to do so.

Even so, in small moments of affection like these, because Renjun knows all too well how much Jeno doesn't like it, makes him happy.

They're looking at cookbooks when Renjun receives that phone call from Chenle.

Jeno busies himself, flipping through the pages of the multiple books on the shelf while Renjun is occupied nearby at a different rack full of puzzles, seeing a stained glass picture puzzle that catches his eyes.

"Hm… Should we go for the 'English Tea Time Snacks'? Or 'The Friendly Vegan Baking Tips'?" Jeno hums, deep in thought, "Ooh! Or we could go with a classic and go with the 'Martha Stewart's Cake Perfection'?"

Renjun scoffs. "When have you ever seen your dad eat something vegan?" He puts back the stained glass jigsaw puzzle on the rack. "Also he said no desert books this year."

"You're right." Jeno puts both of the books down, "Man nobody ever told me shopping for cookbooks would be hard."

"You should just go for something with Gordon Ramsey on the cover," Renjun shrugs, "Your dad watches Hell's Kitchen right?"

"You're right." Jeno gasps, tackling Renjun in a giant hug. "What would I do without you?"

Renjun feels his heart almost jump out of his chest as he's enveloped in Jeno's arms, trying to play it off cool by pushing Jeno off of him.

"Yeah yeah, get off me." He tears Jeno's arms off his waist. "Hurry up and pick one out!"

"Aye, aye sir."

Renjun chuckles softly to himself just as his phone buzzes to life in his pocket. The familiar name and picture illuminating the screen as he pulls it out.

"What is it now?"

_"I FINISHED THE POTION!"_

"You fucking WHAT—" Renjun slaps a hand over his mouth, Jeno turning back to stare at him with furrowed brows.

"Is everything okay?" He asks, expression filled with worry.

Renjun nods his head vigorously, he covers the speaker, taking the phone off his ears.

"It's Chenle, I think he set something on fire again, I'm gonna take this call outside, I'll be right back."

"Oh okay." Jeno shoos him away and gives him a thumbs up. "Go take the call, I'll be fine."

"Thanks."

Renjun steps outside into the cold air, where he can finally let it all out. He takes a deep breath and presses the phone to his ear.

"YOU WHAT?!"

_"I FINISHED IT!"_ Chenle screams again. _"I know it's completely unbelievable but I actually did it! I spent all day and night trying to perfect the potion and it's finally done!!"_

"But how?! It’s impossible to sit through the 16-hour process!"

_"Well consider it possible!"_ Chenle giggles. _"I made a sizable amount but I need it to ferment for at least 4 hours so I'm at your apartment!"_

Renjun is half whispering and half screaming at this point. "WHY MY APARTMENT?" 

_"Look, as much as I love my flat, I don't have any space left in my fermentation cabinet and you barely brew potions anyway so I'd thought I'd use yours— Speaking of which, where is it?"_

"Hidden away so people like you don't go barging into my house to use it!" Renjun groans, "Chenle when I said I'd help you out this isn't what I meant."

_"Well, I didn't need any of your ingredients so you've gotta help me out some way!" Chenle defends. "Plus, where are you even? I'm inside your place and Jeno isn't here either."_

Renjun pinches the bridge of his nose. "Me and Jeno are going Christmas shopping for our parents. But that's not the issue here—"

Chenle scoffed. _"Not the issue here?? Excuse me, remind me how you guys aren't even a couple yet here you two are doing newlywed activities."_

"CHENLE."

_"Okay, okay I'm sorry I insulted the nonexistent relationship you could have if you just grew some balls."_

"If you continue any further I will not let you use my fermentation cabinet and I will ban you from my apartment."

_"WAIT NO GREAT LORD RENJUN PLEASE."_

Renjun waits for a second sucks in a deep inhale, and then a deep exhale, and gives in.

"Okay fine. Here's the deal, disguise the bottle and hide it, I'll come home in a few and put it in my cabinet, deal?"

_"So you won't tell me where your fermentation cabinet is?"_

"I'm hanging up Chenle."

_"NO WAIT—"_

Renjun stuffs the phone back into his pocket. Looking up at the cloudy morning sky that's painted a bright gray, the weather is gloomy but it's only to be expected around this time. The sun is completely covered by the swirls of the clouds, not even a peek shining through.

Lord… What has he gotten himself into?

He lets out a small huff and turns back around in the store to search for Jeno again and luckily the search doesn't take long because Jeno stands at one of the tables filled with books near the entrance under the sign that states in bolded letters, 'Bestsellers'.

He lurks behind Jeno's shoulder noticing the two books he's examining. 'The Art of War' By Sun Tzu and 'I am Pusheen the Cat' by Claire Benton. Two books Renjun would've never realized summed up Jeno's personalities so perfectly.

He can't help but let out a snort at how different the two books are, catching Jeno's attention in the process as he spins around.

"Renjun! You're back, how's Chenle?"

He sighs. "I wanted him to burn half his hair off but unfortunately he's okay."

Jeno laughs at that. "Well that's good, are you ready to head out?" Renjun raises an eyebrow.

"But what about…" His sentence trails off as his eyes slowly move down to the plastic bag in Jeno's hand. Renjun looks back at Jeno with a flat expression as the boy sheepishly smiles at him. "Lee Jeno…"

"Well, you were taking a while and the line got short so I took the chance and I got in."

Renjun frowns. "I thought we agreed we were paying for our own things?" 

"Yes we did but— I couldn't help myself."

"Jeno…"

"Okay, okay." Jeno put his hands up in surrender. "But you can buy me lunch tomorrow, deal? Just think of this as an early Christmas present!" 

"Fine, but you've got to stop paying for my things dude." Renjun lectures, taking the bag from him, noticing how oddly heavy it feels for only 5 items. He opens it up finding another surprise waiting for him.

"Darn, I was hoping you wouldn't notice that until we got home." Jeno curses

Renjun slowly pulls out the jigsaw puzzle box he was looking at earlier, looking at it in disbelief.

"Lee Jeno you—"

"Before you say anything!" Jeno stops him. "No, it isn't your Christmas present but you were looking at it a lot and I couldn't help but notice so… Think of it as another early Christmas present?" Jeno tries again but Renjun isn't having any of it.

"Give me the two books in your hands."

"But—"

"Give it to me Jeno," Renjun demands sternly and the boy pouts giving into Renjun's words and handing over the book.

Then in less than 10 minutes, Renjun walks away, heading straight to the cash register, pays for the 2 books and 2 bags of the Haribo Gummy Bears that he knows Jeno adores. and then walks back, and shoves the plastic bag in front of Jeno.

"There. Now we're even." Renjun hums in content. "Here's your early Christmas present."

"I knew I shouldn't have handed you the bag." Jeno frowns, taking the new bag. "Now I'll have to explain to Jaemin and Hyuck why I have 'I Am Pusheen the Cat' on my bookshelf next to the Communist Manifesto."

"I'm sure they'll understand." Renjun sympathetically pats him on the back with a laugh and takes his wrist. "C'mon we've still got more shopping to do!"

Jeno stumbles forward reluctantly before regaining his happy mood again and lets Renjun drag him out of the bookstore because he's weak when it comes to Renjun's gleeful smile.

— 🔮 —

When they finally get home, the sun is just starting to set but it still doesn't change that freezing weather outside.

Renjun shudders as he steps inside, dropping all the bags at the front entrance and letting himself fall face-first on the couch.

"At least take off your coat first," Jeno chuckles.

He thinks about it for a second. "No. My legs are sore."

Jeno shakes his head. "You're ridiculous, we didn't even walk around that much."

Renjun gives him the middle finger. "I do not want to hear that from you Mr. I Bike 70 Kilometers Every Morning."

"Okay fair."

Jeno gathers all of Renjun's bags and toes his shoes off. Tossing the bags in his room so Renjun can sort them out later when he has time.

He appears back in the hallway, still wearing his casual clothes. He knocks on the wall to get Renjun's attention. "Hey, should we go out for dinner? Or should we order takeout?"

"Nah." Renjun sits up on the couch, stretching his limbs. "I think I'll cook tonight."

"Are you sure you can even stand in the kitchen?" Jeno teases, earning him a pillow in the face, courtesy of Renjun.

"Go change and stop worrying, jeez." He shoos the boy away to reassure him.

"Okay but I'm helping you out tonight!" Jeno calls out before disappearing into the hallway again.

"Yeah sure," Renjun stands up and fishes out his phone. He checks and makes sure that the door to Jeno's room is fully closed when he steps into his own and shuts the door behind him.

He almost forgot about one more thing to do.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, doofus. I'm back home now, where's the potion?" Renjun whispers

_"Well finally! Jesus, I tried calling you back like 500 times, was your newlywed date with Jeno that fun?"_ Renjun can almost hear the snark in Chenle's tone. He rolls his eyes.

"One, it wasn't a date, and two, yes it was— Look, let's cut to the chase—"

Chenle cuts him off. _"Uh how about no. Now tell me about the date!"_

"Chenle do you want your ripoff love potion to ferment or not?"

_"Okay! Damn, I hid it in your fridge as a bottle of sparkling water. It should say Zhong's Rośe Water and it's light pink."_

Renjun knitted his eyebrows. "Out of all the things you could've disguised it as you disguised it as a bottle of something I don't even drink, are you kidding me?"

_"What? You got any better ideas?"_

"Why you—" Renjun took a deep breath. "Okay, whatever. I'll store the potion and you can come to pick it up tomorrow at 7am SHARP. I can't have Jeno asking if I need help with my illegal alcohol brewing."

_"Deal! But hurry, it's been in the fridge for like 6 hours now and it needs a warmer place to ferment, or else the effects won't be as long-lasting."_

"Yes, yes, I know the deal. Just come pick it up tomorrow."

_"Did I ever tell you how much I love-"_

Renjun hangs up on him, again.

At this point, he wasn’t even sure why he was helping out Chenle but sometimes doing stupid shit for your loved ones just makes sense.

He goes back out to find the door to Jeno's room already wide open. He makes his way out to the kitchen to see Jeno already in the kitchen, now changed into his loungewear.

He's flipping through the cupboards for his mug when he sees Renjun enter. "Hey Jun, what's on the menu for tonight?"

But Renjun can't think about how ridiculously good Jeno looks in that t-shirt right now, he has other business to take care of, crouching down to search the fridge.

But what Renjun doesn't catch is the bottle in Jeno's hands.

"Uh… I was thinking pasta carbonara but I'm not sure if…" He trails his sentence off, eyes darting all over the fridge.

Did Chenle give him the wrong information? There wasn't a single bottle of pink sparkling water insight. Their fridge looks exactly like how they left it this morning with no changes at all and knowing Chenle, it's not like he would've gone out of his way to hide the bottle either. He does one final look over before he peeps the question to Jeno.

Renjun frowns. "Hey did you see a bottle of sparkling water in the fridge?" He asks, not looking up.

Jeno peeks his head out from the cupboard doors, slowly closing them.

"Uh… Is it pink?"

"Yeah?"

"And weirdly sparkly?"

Renjun slowly stands up, looking at Jeno with wide eyes. ".... Yes?"

"And says 'Zhong's Sparkling Rośe?" 

Jeno shyly holds up a half-empty plastic bottle of sparkling pink water, that Renjun knows isn't actual fucking sparkling water.

Renjun feels like this is the moment in the sitcom where the scene freeze frames and zooms in on the stupid, dumbfounded, expression plastered on his face.

But unfortunately for him, this is not a sitcom. This is real life and in this reality, his roommate that is also his big fat crush has just drunk a love potion.

Now, this situation can go in many different ways.

Renjun can either freak the fuck out and cast an amnesia spell on Jeno and while the boy is passed out, he packs his things and decidedly lives off the grid in Germany or wherever and discards any trace of his existence.

or

He finally breaks and spills everything out to Jeno, that fact that he's a witch, the fact that Chenle is a witch, and the extra fact that he may have just drunk a love potion and just prays to any higher being out there that Jeno doesn't hate him.

OR

Renjun can handle this situation calmly, by not freaking out, and playing it off normally. He just makes up an excuse and plays it off like it's nothing and then he can go back into his room to cry into his pillow.

Sure, the 1st one sounds wonderful but Renjun is already 11 months deep into this friendship and he cares too much about Jeno to leave and the 2nd one sounds laughable to him, telling the truth? Being honest?? Why do all that when you can just hide your feelings and then freak out about it later?

At this point, Renjun has gone too deep into his human identity to go back so it's very clear where he stands and option #3 is looking absolutely glorious.

"Renjun?"

He snaps back into reality, not realizing how quickly his thoughts ran through his head and how confused Jeno might be over Renjun's sudden pause over a bottle of sparkling water.

"Huh?"

Jeno put the bottle down on the counter, walking over to Renjun's side with a frown.

"Are you okay? You like spaced out." He puts a palm on Renjun's forehead.

Of course, even when in the direst of situations, Jeno was still the sweetest human being alive.

Renjun pulled himself back, coughing into his hand, trying his best to hide the blush across his face.

"Yeah no, I'm fine." He smiled at Jeno, but it wasn't genuine. "Sorry, it was Chenle's water and he might freak if he knows anyone drank it." Renjun weakly laughs. "You know how he is."

Okay, Renjun will admit, not exactly the greatest excuse he's ever come up with but throw him a bone here. He's trying his best to hold everything in while the contents of a love potion are inside the digestive system of his roommate.

Jeno blinks at him, Renjun can't tell if he's unconvinced or not. "Oh. Okay, are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you literally looked like you were about to vomit like 20 seconds ago."

Renjun presses his lips together in a tight, thin line. Sometimes Jeno has a way of describing very specific things correctly. 

"Well people change Jeno, people change." He pats the boy on the back.

"Uh… Okay then." Jeno responds skeptically, "Are we still up for making pasta tonight?"

"Yes of course!" He claps his hands together a little too excitedly and Renjun knows his overplaying his 'natural' act a bit too far and he desperately needs to get out of there before he starts spilling secrets."But I uh— I have to do something really quick, I'll be right back."

"What are you doing?"

Damnit, out of all the days Jeno chooses to be nosy why did it have to be today?

"Uh… My grandma… wants me to do something for her little something and you know…" Renjun mumbles the second half of his sentence, making it incoherent as he walks backwards out of the kitchen. "I'll be right back!"

The boy disappears into the hallway leaving a very confused, very puzzled Jeno with nothing but a bottle of pink sparkly sparkling water.

".... What the—"

"FUCK." Renjun half-whispers, half-shouts, quickly shutting the door behind him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, oh my GOD. WHAT HAVE I DONE."

Okay, now it was the time to freak out.

He paces back and forth in the space of his room. So what was the game plan now?

To put it simply, there was no game plan, there was absolutely no plan to begin with, because how on earth was Renjun going to predict that this would happen??

As a witch, his intuition should be heightened and he always knows when something bad is going to happen but when he told Chenle to disguise the bottle, everything seemed like it was okay! 

It's like even his own powers are trying to go against him at this point.

He jumps into his closet and shuts the door, dialing the only person he knows will feel his same pain at the moment.

Chenle.

_"Hello? What's up?"_

"Hey, uh..." Renjun replied, his voice a bit higher than usual and Chenle catching on to it immediately.

_"Are you okay? Did you find the bottle?"_

Renjun cringed. The last thing he wanted to hear about right now but the love potion that's going to fuck his life over.

"Yes… About that— Chenle, you see, the funny thing is," He clenches his fist, his voice going higher and higher. "The contents of the live potion may or may not be currently swimming inside of Jeno's digestive system right now??"

The silence that followed with Renjun's words was so incredibly loud until Chenle let out the fattest sigh Renjun has ever heard.

_"Man, what the fuck?"_

— 🔮 —

Chenle did not freak out the way Renjun thought he would.

Rather than scream or yell at Renjun for being so incompetent he just sort of just sounded like a really disappointed father whose son just drew on the walls with crayon which still did not bode well for Renjun's current feelings.

_"I would laugh but this is just really sad, for you I mean."_ Chenle clarified. _"It totally sucks for you_ . _"_

"Oh my god, thanks for the boost of self-esteem Chenle, what would I do without you?" Renjun replied sarcastically. "Plus, it was your potion so it sucks for you too."

_Chenle snorted. "At least I can just make another one, good luck finding a spell to reverse your situation."_

"You're really not helping me out here man, I was the one that agreed to your dumb potion in the first place." Renjun frowns. "Technically! If it weren't for you I wouldn't be in this mess!"

_"Well, you agreed so—"_

"Chenle I am minutes away from casting that amnesia spell on Jeno and moving to a tiny cottage in Scotland where these memories will only continue to haunt my ass for the rest of my—"

_"OKAY, OKAY."_ Chenle groaned with finality. _"I'll help you out just stop describing to me your weird backup plans in detail."_ He shudders

Renjun nodded his head vigorously "Yes! Deal, now talk to me before my roommate falls in love and becomes a crazy stalker."

_"Look, the potion I made was light, the measurements are half of what the original recipe was so it won't be as long-lasting as the original potion and it won't be as strong as Madame Angel's disaster."_

"So… Jeno won't turn into a batshit insane stalker?"

Chenle hummed. _"Nope, at most he'll only be lovey-dovey to the person that he lays eyes on after he drinks the potion."_

Renjun held his breath. "Wait does that mean—"

_"Yes, it means exactly what you think it does."_ Chenle finished for him. _"The effects aren't immediate but the first person they look at after consuming the potion is their target of affection on site."_

Renjun's eyes slowly widened "Oh… My god…"

Chenle groaned. _"Here we go again."_

"OH MY GOD."

Renjun had forgotten to consider the possibility that the only and first-person Jeno had looked at after drinking the bottle had been Renjun.

And he has also forgotten that his ROOMMATE and CRUSH has just drunk a LOVE POTION and now is possibly in love with HIM.

How does the universe always manage to conspire against him?

Thus, Renjun has his 2nd mental breakdown of the day.

_"HUANG RENJUN."_

"What?! I can't just let my roommate fall in love with me! That's illegal!"

_"Technically, it's not— But we don't have a choice here!"_

"What am I supposed to do then?!"

_"Oh, I don't know, maybe NOT BREAKDOWN EVERY 2 MINUTES?"_

"YOU TRY BEING IN A SITUATION WHERE YOUR CRUSH HAS JUST DRANK A LOVE POTION AND IS NOW HELPLESSLY IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

_"RENJUN LOOK. As much as this sucks you have to do this for Jeno. Plus, who else would you rather have Jeno fall in love with?"_

Chenle was right. Renjun had to do this, Jeno was his best roommate and long time crush, after all, it's not like he had much of a choice since the beginning but that still doesn't make him uncomfortable with the whole aspect of the situation.

Jeno wasn't really in love with him, it would just be the potion talking and for Renjun, it just didn't feel right but his hands were tied and there was only one thing he could do.

(Aside from telling Jeno the truth, but Renjun is too stubborn to listen to himself)

He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You're– You're right, Chenle. Just tell me what I have to do."

_"Suck it up."_

Renjun rolls his eyes. "Chenle I'm being serious—"

_"No like literally, that's what you have to do. Suck it up and accept the fact that you and Jeno are gonna be boyfriends."_

"NO SHIT." He threw his arm up, "That's easier said than— Wait did you just say, boyfriends? Who said anything about boyfriends?"

The boy on the other line pauses for a while, but the thought clicks. _"Oh… Right, I forgot to tell you I switched up the ingredients a little bit so now not only is Jeno in love with you but he also thinks you guys are dating…"_ Chenle sucks the air between his teeth _. "Whoops?"_

Ah…

Renjun should really get a new cousin.

"YOU WHAT?!"

_"LOOK I JUST WANTED TO EXPERIMENT A LITTLE!"_

"AND YOU THOUGHT SPEEDING THE PROCESS OF A LOVE POTION WOULD DO THE TRICK?"

_"UM, YEAH?"_

"CHENLE YOU—"

There are a few knocks from Renjun's door that cuts off his sentence. He momentarily calms himself and crawls out of his closet, opening his bedroom door with a way too-wide smile.

Jeno pauses at him for a couple of seconds before snorting at the stiff expression on his face.

"Hey, I set up everything for carbonara." He points his thumb behind him, "I'm gonna start boiling the water but I don’t wanna start cooking without my little chef in the kitchen."

Renjun softly giggled. "You’re ridiculous. Thanks for setting everything up anyway." He doesn’t realize it but he finds himself relaxing a little bit with the appearance of Jeno. “Just call me out when you put the pasta in.”

Jeno smiles, "Cool." He's about to leave before getting in one last word. "Oh, by the way, how's your grandma?"

"What?"

"Earlier you said your grandma wanted to go do something." Jeno tilts his head, "Or did I hear wrong?"

The words click inside his head as he begins to nod a little too enthusiastically.

"Oh, yeah! She's uh— She's doing fine, actually, I just have to remind her to eat her dinner, y'know, the usual stuff."

Jeno raises an eyebrow at the weird statement. "Yes, I do indeed know because I have a grandma of my own." He laughs, "I'll call you out when the water starts to boil, tell her I said hi."

Renjun presses his lips together tightly.

"Yes, of course." He momentarily stops himself from shutting the door, just as Jeno turns his back on him. "Oh and Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh…" Renjun chews on his bottom lip. "Are you feeling okay?"

Jeno blinks at him. "Yeah?" He looks at his hand and then dramatically crosses his arms over his chest in faux fear, gasping in the process. "Don't tell me you somehow poisoned me?!"

Renjun looks at him with the most deadpanned expression a person can make.

Oh, if only Jeno knew.

Well, at least he was kind of close on guessing poison, but not quite as close.

"You're so dumb." Renjun chuckled before shutting the door.

He let out a sigh of relief before he felt himself growing tense again, picking up the phone.

"I'm gonna murder you the next time I see you."

_"That's gonna suck even more for you considering I'm the only person that can help you right now."_ Chenle hummed, unbothered. _"How's your future loverboy?"_

"Shut up." Renjun sighed. "He said he's feeling fine."

_"Of course he is, the effects of the potion don't kick in until 6 hours later."_

"Oh great. Something else I had no clue about." Renjun plops down on his bed. “What else? The potion wears off in a year?”

There was a long pause on the other line.

Renjun widens his eyes a little bit, he did not mean to jinx himself like that.

“Oh, my- Don’t tell me-”

_“Trust me it’s nothing like that!”_ Chenle quickly reassures him. _“But it’s the opposite. When I made the potion I specifically tweaked it so it would speed up the process of the love, keep it light so it wouldn’t turn anybody into a crazy stalking serial killer, and so it wouldn’t last as long as 5 months.” He explains. “Meaning, the period of time has shortened to 2 months and since you didn’t put in your fermentation cabinet to thaw out, the time gets even shorter and that means after it wears off, Jeno won’t be in love with you anymore.”_

Renjun swallows the lump in the throat. “So, what’s the time period now?”

_“... 1 month.”_

One month. One month of Jeno being in love with Renjun.

At first, it doesn’t sound so bad but if you look at how they got to this point, the entire situation just comes off as a shit show.

There’s a part of him that thinks maybe he should be happy that for once Jeno is finally looking in his direction but there’s an even larger part of him that knows, this isn’t how Renjun wants it to be.

If Jeno was going to fall in love with him, he wanted the feelings to be mutual and because Jeno genuinely likes him back, not because a stupid love potion decided that for him.

Renjun doesn’t like this entire situation but there’s not much left he can do.

“Yeah. Okay, at least we can just get this over with quickly, right?”

_“I’m sorry Renjun if there were another solution, I would’ve told you but-”_

“No, no. It’s cool.” Renjun sighs. “It’s for the best anyway and it’s my fault for agreeing to all of this in the first place.”

_“Renjun…”_ Chenle frowned. _“Hey, look, I’ll do some more research to see if we can stop this early, but for now just try your best to hold out."_

"You better." Renjun joked. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, I'll just play it off."

_"Are you sure? The choice to put an amnesia spell on Jeno is still open."_

Renjun rolled his eyes. "Yes! Chenle, I'm sure, I'll be fine." He shakes his head. "Anyways, I've got to go, I don't want Jeno burning down the kitchen."

_"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow to talk some more, and Renjun?"_

"Yeah?"

_"Don't fall in love with him too hard."_

"You're ridiculous, of course, I won't." Renjun laughs it off. "Maybe if we start dating my crush on him might go away, who knows?"

_"That's literally the last thing that would happen."_ Chenle deadpans at him

"I'm hanging up!" Renjun takes the phone off his ear.

_"Yeah, yeah—"_

Renjun tosses his phone to the side, burying his face into his hands.

How the fuck was he not suppose to not fall deeper in love with Jeno now?

— 🔮 —

Renjun did not sleep that night.

Well, how could he? His close friend and roommate and crush downs a love potion and the person the recipient of his affections is none other than Renjun.

After his call with Chenle, Renjun went outside to cook with Jeno and the moment was just like any other time they've cooked together but Renjun decided to cherish it a little bit more because this would be a while until he got to witness Jeno in his normal Jeno state and not some lovey-dovey state that the potion effects him with.

They ate pleasantly together, sitting down in their living room and turning on the channel to some cheesy Christmas Hallmark movie with the same plot but there's a comfortable air between them.

Renjun finds himself glancing over a Jeno move because this will quite literally be the last time he can Jeno will just be friends.

Is he sad that they won't be friends anymore? Yeah. But is his heart pounding at the thought of Jeno suddenly treating him like a boyfriend? Hell yeah.

When they decided to call it for a night, Renjun helped Jeno with the dishes to his protest and it got Renjun thinking if these moments would still exist when they would start "dating" the next morning. They both retreated into their rooms and Renjun lingered his eyes on Jeno for just a little bit longer before shutting his own.

Now he could properly freak out, again.

Renjun went back and forth in his room, pacing himself, the only thing in his head is thinking about how much he had fucked up to get to this point.

Maybe it would be better if he didn't already have a crush on Jeno but when you roommates with The Lee Jeno, that's practically impossible.

He even contemplated calling his mother, his aunt, his grandmother to ask them for advice but knowing them, it would only result in them lecturing him and his grandmother getting very excited that her grandson is finally getting it on with his love life.

Renjun kept thinking about casting that amnesia spell and the glorious small cottage he would live in when he moved to Scotland where he would spend his days herding sheep but he already had grown too attached to everybody here to leave.

He summoned all of the books he had on dangerous potions and the art of brewing but to no avail. After all, love potions had been banned and because they were banned, so were any mention of them in writing. Heck, he even pulled out a book about potion ingredients to see if he could brew something that would reverse the effects but everything had led him to nothing.

The next thing Renjun knew, it was 6am.

Renjun could feel the heaviness of his eyelids weigh him down as he looked out his window down at the passing cars and the grey-blue sky that began to brighten up. He opens the window and only gets a face full of cold, dry, air before quickly shutting it close with a yelp. Well, that was a mistake.

His wall clock only begins to tick louder and louder as the outside sky is practically screaming 'Your ass stayed up all night worrying about a MAN and now the sun is out you dumbfuck.'

Renjun sighs. He's gonna have to text Yangyang later for his Psychology notes.

He puts on his Moomin slippers, remembering how Jeno likes to tease him by saying how much it looks like a white cow.

The boy shuffles out of his room, not bothering to even give a glance at the mess of books and papers in his room from his all-night research. The soft patter of his footsteps on their wooden floor is loud enough to wake anyone up but Renjun can't bother to care at this point.

He drags himself to the kitchen to make himself some tea which has by far been the greatest idea he's ever had since moving in with Jeno and wonders why he didn't just make himself tea before he started his all-nighter rampage.

Thankfully, the soft hum of the teapot beginning to boil is just enough to calm his nerves down just a little bit. He flips through the cabinet for his tea leaves, trying to decide if he wants to wake up today or if he wants to pass out sleeping today.

Just as he's deciding between the two tins, he hears the light thumping footsteps behind him, turning around to find a wild Jeno at the entrance of the kitchen with even wilder bed head, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he squints at Renjun.

Renjun can't help but break out into a smile at his cute appearance. 

"Good morning."

"Mornin'" Jeno mumbles. "You're up early." He shuffles his feet towards the boy.

The boy nods, turning his attention back to the two boxes of tea leaves in his hands. "Oh, I couldn't sleep last night," He laughs sheepishly, "I was planning to—"

Renjun's words are cut off short when he feels a pair of warm strong arms wrapped around his waist. The latter, pulling Renjun flushed against his chest as he slots his head on the surface of Renjun's shoulder. He's suddenly enveloped in the boy's citrus scent.

He can feel the soft hum of the boy's chest on his back.

"You shouldn't stay up, it's not good for your health." He mumbles sleepily.

Renjun is frozen in place, stiff as a rock with Jeno against him. His heart pace begins to quicken, the color returning to his face as he finally wakes up to what's happening.

"Y-Yeah… I know."

Oh god, Renjun can feel Jeno's fingers drawing circles on his waist.

"You should stay home today, you had a long day yesterday."

"I was uh— I was planning on doing that." Renjun clears his throat.

He can see his knuckles go white at how tightly he's holding on to his box of tea leaves. He feels his chest getting tighter with Jeno's warmth.

The boy nods. "Yeah, that's good." Renjun shivers at Jeno's breath tickling his neck. "I should go bike now but you're so warm Jun."

Jeno pulls him in even closer.

"Yeah— wait no you should," Renjun sucks in a breath. "You should go exercise." He starts counting sheep in his head to calm himself down as he slowly places the two boxes in his hand back on the counter, patting the arms around his waist reassuringly. "I'll still be here when you get back."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jeno hums.

Renjun lets out a nervous chuckle. "When have I not been?" He jokes, hoping it sounded as natural as it did in his head.

But Jeno laughs a little and loosens the hold on Renjun's waist. "You're so cute." He blows softly on Renjun's neck, the sensation making him shiver before patting him on the head. "I'll go get ready."

"Y-Yes. You go do that." Renjun internally curses himself at how weirdly robotic the sentence has rolled off his tongue, but Jeno only smiles at him and leaves the kitchen.

Leaving Renjun feeling hot, dumbfounded, shocked, heart pounding out of his chest, and a blushing mess.

He brushes his fingers on his nape, gently feeling over the exact spot Jeno had blown on, the burning sensation never leaving his neck.

It takes Renjun 20 seconds to process everything before he drops to his knees, feeling them grow weak, and internally screams at himself like a high school girl who's just received a love letter.

He might have to apologize to Chenle later,

Jeno isn't the only one that's going to be falling in love.

— 🔮 —

Renjun ditched making tea because Jeno's actions were enough to wake him up, even if he had expected Jeno to act the way he did, that still doesn't mean he was caught off guard by the actions.

And he had gone on a full breakdown once Jeno finally left the house.

He started cleaning everything in his room, he did the laundry, the even emptied the dishwasher and he's not even supposed to do that chore but fuck it anything to take his mind off what just happened.

At some point he found himself laying down in his bed and reliving the memory almost 20 times, kicking his feet in excitement just thinking about it.

He felt like a high schooler in one of the teen rom-coms before cringing at himself again and then not caring anymore because Jeno back hugged him!

Renjun tightly squeezes the Moomin plushie in his arms, the poor stuffed toy getting hit over and over again as Renjun continues his thoughts.

Maybe this whole love potion thing wasn't so bad after all.

Renjun stops himself. Wait no, it's still bad but maybe not _that_ bad.

He sits back up on his bed, reaching for his phone and dialing the one number that he probably should save for speed dial at this point.

The line picks up after 5 rings

"Chenle, I need help please I can't—"

_"Renjun you know I love you but it's fucking 6am in the morning."_ Chenle's voice is groggy and annoyed but Renjun is too caught up in the events to even notice.

"Well, I need to rant to somebody!"

_"Text me."_

"But Chenle!"

_"Goodnight Renjun."_

"It's 6am!"

Chenle hangs up on him, that son of a bitch.

Sadly, Renjun can't really seem to blame him because at this point even he's tired of himself.

But his thoughts are quickly interrupted by a knock on his door. Renjun perks up, stumbling off of his bed and opening the door a little too excitedly.

"Hey! I mean—" Renjun clears his throat, for sounding way too enthusiastic. "Sup, you're back."

Jeno quirks an eyebrow at him and smiles in amusement. "I am, have you eaten yet?"

"No, I was planning on…" Renjun's sentence trails off as Jeno lifts the brown paper bag in his hand that smells like absolute heaven. "And of course you already bought breakfast."

"Couldn't help myself." Jeno grins. "I'm gonna go hit the shower, you can get started without me." He shoves the bag closer to Renjun making the boy hold out both of his hands to take the bag instinctively.

"Are you sure? I can just set it up and wait for you."

"No Jun, I saw your mug still on the counter. I know you haven't eaten anything since last night." Jeno folds his arms over his chest. "Plus, I'll be out quickly. Just eat something, okay?"

Renjun presses his lips together and nods.

"Okay, fine." 

"Attaboy." Jeno leaves to go to the opposite end of the hallway before turning himself back around. "Oh right, I almost forgot." 

He spins on his heels and engulfs the boy in a big hug, squeezing him tightly. The gesture makes the boy freeze up almost immediately.

Renjun just stands there for a good 5 minutes, even after he hears Jeno's bedroom door close and after he hears the shower in his bathroom start to run, Renjun continues to just stand there.

Something new to add to his list of things he needs to rant to Chenle about: The aspects of his and Jeno's roommate and friendship dynamic has not changed, but the only part that has changed is that now Jeno is showing affection to him.

Because now they are dating.

And Renjun keeps forgetting this.

And Every. Single. Time. He's reminded of it, courtesy of Jeno's actions, it always leaves him caught off guard and feeling all warm inside.

That was certainly one thing he needed to fix quickly or else it would become suspicious to the people around them.

When Jeno comes out of the shower, Renjun is munching on a fried green tomato, spacing out about how he's gonna plan that trip to Scotland if he eventually does give up on life and casts that amnesia spell on Jeno.

"I thought I told you to eat already?"

The rattle of the chair against the wood is enough to startle Renjun out of his head. He can practically hear the pout in Jeno's voice as he sits across Renjun.

He avoids eye contact with the boy, after the back hug and the big bear hug, if he even spares a glance at Jeno, Renjun feels like he might explode.

"Technically I did eat." Renjun hums defensively, "But I just eat slow."

"Oh really?" Jeno stuffs his mouth with a piece of the omelet. "Well, that's not what I saw on Shotaro's birthday when we went out for hotpot you practically inhaled the soup and everything in it."

Renjun lets out a sound of disbelief, looking up at the boy. "Boo, fake news." He leans back into his chair, "If I recall, I eat very slowly and you guys were just talking the entire time."

"Jaemin had to eat tofu because you ate all the meat."

"Well, I—" Renjun thought about it for a second before coming up with nothing. He stabs a piece of his pancake and feeds it to Jeno, ultimately shutting the boy up. "Hush up."

Jeno merely smiles at his antics before downing a glass of orange juice.

In moments like these Renjun temporarily forgets that Jeno is under the influence of the love potion because nothing within the boy or their relationship has changed. A part of him feels grateful that the potion doesn't take away the personality Renjun has grown to love but still keeps it there.

So the only true difference is that now they're a couple and expressing signs of affection towards each other because that's what couples do.

Renjun should be thankful the potion has made his job easier but a part of him doesn't want to be doing this.

"Do you have any plans today?" Jeno's question puts a hold on his thoughts.

He shakes his head. "No, I'm planning on staying home today and Chenle is coming over in a bit so," Renjun shrugs. "I think I might just catch up on my sleep."

"Oh, that's good because…" Jeno swirls around his glass of orange juice, making Renjun raise an eyebrow at him.

"Because?"

Jeno pauses before putting the glass down on the table.

"I was planning on telling the guys about us."

Renjun nearly chokes on his pancake.

"You— What."

Jeno's expression turns into one of reassurance "Oh! If you don't want to tell them that we're together then that's okay too, I just wanted to—"

Renjun pauses and sets down his fork. He was well aware that one of the effects of the love potion meant that Jeno already knew they were dating however hearing the boy say it out loud has a certain effect on Renjun that he can't explain.

The crossover between love and hate.

"Sorry I just," Renjun waves his hand around, trying to explain, "I was a bit caught off guard— Can you repeat that?"

"I… Wanted to tell our friends about us?" Jeno smiles at him, "Is that okay?"

Renjun knows it isn't Jeno talking but the love potion but even so, the words still manage to tint his ears pink.

"Yeah…" Renjun nods. "Let's tell them."

The expression that morphs on Jeno's face is a mixture of happiness and absolute glee as he quickly whips out his phone.

"That's great! I should tell the guys— Oh shit! I'm gonna be late for class." Jeno checks his watch, trying to finish the rest of his breakfast. Seeing the boy fumble around makes Renjun smile silly. Like a fool in love, which technically wasn't wrong.

"Go pack your things," He shoos the boy away, "I'll text them, where should we meet?"

Jeno smiles thankfully at the boy. "I'm pretty sure we're all free in the afternoon, what if we go to that Coffeehouse Donghyuck likes."

Renjun fishes out his phone, pulling up their group chat, which just went active.

"Texting them now…" He hums

"Thanks, you're the best."

"When have I never been?" Renjun states proudly, looking up from his phone. "You should probably—"

He's cut off by the feeling of Jeno tugging on his cheek. Next thing Renjun knows, Jeno's got both of his cheeks in his hands, squishing them like he's a stuffed toy with Jeno smiling brightly like a child on Christmas morning.

"I've always wanted to do this." He admits "I guess now I have to get used to doing that more often."

Renjun wants to slap the cheeky expression that spreads across the boy's face but he opts for a kick in the ass instead.

"G-Go change!"

"Yes sir." Jeno cackles letting go, leaving Renjun holding both of his cheeks in embarrassment.

It's official, Renjun officially hates Jeno's guts.

And the stupid potion that's making him hate his guts.

He wants to both squeal and kick at the same time but in fear of getting a complaint from a neighbor, Renjun holds it in and finishes internally freaking out.

Once this month is over, Renjun swears to god Jeno will pay for everything he's putting him through.

But one sharp inhale and one long exhale later and he picks up his phone to finish sending his text.

Their friend group was certainly a strange bunch that got together merely because of them all knowing each other one way or another. 

It's a long story but if Renjun thinks about it now, he had never been that close with Jeno in the first place. Sure, he knew the boy because they were sort of in the same friend group by association but that was mainly because they were both close with Donghyuck and Yangyang. Renjun seemed to get along with everyone else just fine but he always felt that Jeno was a bit standoffish in the beginning

Now, of course, he doesn't see the boy in that light anymore but it's only because Jeno asked him to be his roommate only after 3 months of knowing each other.

He'd never asked Jeno but why did he ask Renjun specifically? Especially when both Shotaro and Donghyuck were dying to move out of the dormitories and Jeno was much more closer with Jaemin.

Renjun shook his head, now wasn't the time for useless thoughts. He feels the blush rising to his cheek as he thinks about the new message he has to relay.

  
  


**Yangyang**

And thats how I absorbed my twin in the womb

**Shotaro**

is this before or after your mom stopped listening to classical music while pregnant and started blasting Travis Scott instead

**Yangyang**

After

**Donghyuck**

The more I hear about this story, the less realistic it gets

**Jaemin**

i just woke up what the fuck.

**Renjun**

Hey me and Jeno wanna meet up with you guys today at Timeless Coffeehouse. We have something to tell you guys…

**Donghyuck**

Oh, worm??? We've got a code '...' 

**Jaemin**

what's that even supposed to represent?

**Yangyang**

According to my book of all things Renjun, it means it's pretty big news

**Renjun**

What the hell kind of book is that

**Yangyang**

A biography of your life I'm planning to make money off of

**Shotaro**

What's the special occasion

**Renjun**

We have some…. News

**Donghyuck**

Lmao imagine if they told us that they were dating

**Renjun**

…

**Donghyuck**

**...**

Oh shit

**Yangyang**

WHAT

**Jaemin**

HUH?

**Shotaro**

EXPLAINNNNNNN

**Renjun**

I GOTTA GO

Renjun quickly closes his phone and mutes the group chat, slightly worried about the bomb he just dropped on all of them.

He always knew his friends were perceptive but he didn't realize they would get it spot on so quickly.

"Did you already tell the kids?" Jeno chuckles, "My phone is blowing up." He fumbles with his scarf and coat.

Renjun laughs nervously. "Maybe?" He stands up, "Donghyuck guessed and he was sort of on the nose about… Us."

He really needed to get used to referring to him and Jeno as a couple.

"Yeah?" Jeno shrugs, "He's always been sort of perceptive."

The boy tries to wear his shoes but fails too many times to count and the mere sight of Jeno dilly-dallying always peeves Renjun and he can't help but instinctively reach out and help the boy a little bit.

"Sort of?" Renjun questions as he smacks the boy on the back. "Stand up straight, jeez."

Jeno grins almost a little too widely as if he already knew what Renjun was going to do next.

"Yes sir."

"You're always moving about, I don't get how you can—" He fixes the arms of Jeno's coat and buttons it up. "—DO anything when you're operating like a devil on a unicycle."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have such a way with words Injun?"

"Maybe once or twice." Renjun mindlessly answers, too focused on wrapping the scarf around Jeno's neck. "You're ridiculous sometimes, y'know?"

"I am?" Jeno tilts his head mischievously, "Tell me about it." He steps a bit closer to Renjun which he notices but chooses not to step back.

"For one, you leave your mini packets of gummies everywhere,"

"The more gummies around the house, the less I have to move to get them." Jeno hums, "Think smarter not harder."

"You once ate a marshmallow on fire."

"Okay, in my defense, it was a dare."

"You call pigeons 'street chickens'??"

"... Is that not what they are?"

"You even took an online survey once about high heel shoes and was rewarded a 2 month supply of forks."

"Now we'll never run out of utensils." Jeno shrugs. "And I also now know about 42 types of heel shoes."

Renjun raises an eyebrow, brushing some of Jeno's bangs away from his face. "And yet all that and you can still manage to ace a quantum mechanics test and top your class scores."

"Aren't I the greatest person in the world?" 

Jeno's arms find themselves snaked around Renjun's waist for the second time today and it's suddenly become the only thing occupying Renjun's mind

"S-Sure." He tries freeing himself out of the hold but Jeno's a little too committed to keeping him in place. "Uh… Jeno?"

"Hm?"

The boy has the audacity to smirk at him, this absolute fucker.

"Maybe you should go to class now?"

"Or, better idea, I can just stay in and we can spend more time together?"

Honestly, the idea is not a bad idea at all, and Renjun's last brain cell almost manages to convince him to say yes but his consciousness forces him to face reality.

"You must think you're so smooth."

Jeno shrugs. "I try."

Renjun punches his chest and successfully wiggles away. "Well, you're not smooth enough mister." He spins Jeno around and pushes him out the door.

"But Renjun—"

"Nope. I'll see you later!"

The boy frowns. 

"Not even a goodbye kiss?"

Renjun feels the heart travel to his face a little too quickly. "N-No! Of course not!" 

He quickly slams the door behind him, his quickening heartbeat pounding in his chest as he hears Jeno chuckle before walking away.

Renjun buries his face in his hand, sliding his back down the front door.

This is going to be harder than he originally thought.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been finished with the first chapter for almost 2 weeks now but i put off posting it because i wanted to focus on other projects and i'm not sure when the 2nd chapter will be ready but fingers crossed that it's going to be soon!
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/soonsofics)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.me/juncharm)


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